Local economies learning to be more self-reliant

Reaction was mixed Wednesday to President Barack Obama's championing the cause of working people struggling with minimal pay increases and a shrinking access to well-paying jobs.

James Walsh

Reaction was mixed Wednesday to President Barack Obama's championing the cause of working people struggling with minimal pay increases and a shrinking access to well-paying jobs.

"Fixing our bridges, and rebuilding roads will certainly be good for the business community," said Carol Smith, a vice president of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, after hearing Obama reiterate a need to upgrade transportation and communication infrastructures. He said that would quickly produce employment and improve commerce.

Smith, who researches government policy and legislation affecting business, supported aligning school curriculums with the needs of industry, another of Obama's talking points. SUNY Orange and businesses including President Container in the Town of Wallkill and Cafe Spice in New Windsor launched programs this year to upgrade worker skills.

Obama's continued push to raise the minimum wage left Smith less enthusiastic.

"The business community is not particularly in favor of that," Smith said, "because it will have a ripple effect and all employees will expect a raise."

In a July 3 report, the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit, bipartisan think tank, found that "a full-year worker paid $7.25 per hour (minimum wage) will earn about $15,080 a year before taxes. This is below the federal poverty line of $15,825 for a single parent with one child."

A family of two adults and three children in the Orange-Dutchess area needs an annual income of $108,384 "to attain a secure yet modest living standard" considering cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, and taxes, according to the institute.

Laurence Gottlieb, president of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp., said the time for speeches was over and the time for action overdue.

"You know how they say all politics is local, well, all economies are local," Gottlieb said.

"We're fending for ourselves these days no matter where you are "» . Rather than waiting for some white knight to come in you have to make your own success."

He pointed to local HVEDC initiatives including the showcasing of 3D printing — SUNY New Paltz plans to train students to enter the growing industry — as well as an alliance between Hudson Valley food and beverage producers to market their products.

"It's clear not much is happening on the national level," Gottlieb said, "and we have to concentrate on what's best for the Hudson Valley."